Box-lid holder.



H. W. MORROW.

BOX LID HOLDER.

Patented May 25, 1909.

HENRY WILSON MORROW, OF LISBON, OHIO.

BOX-LID HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 30, 1908.

Patented May 25, 1909.

Serial No. 430,142.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY V i. Monnow, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lisbon, in the county f Columbiana and State of Ohio, lravc invented a new and useful Box- Lid Holder, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in box lid holders.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of box lid holders, and to provide a simple, inexpensive and eff cient device, designed particularly for use on cigar boxes, and adapted to enable the lids of a plurality of boxes to be all arranged at the same angle, or at any desired angle to afford the best display of the goods.

A further object of the invention is to provide a box lid holder, adapted to rigidly connect a box and its lid to enable the dealer to pick a box up and handle the same by the lid, in lifting the box out of and replacing it in a show case, or in handing a box to a customer.

The invention also has for its object to rovide a box lid holder, adapted to form a 'rm brace for the box and the lid to prevent the same from breaking at the hinge joint and causing injury to the contents of the box.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings :-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a box lid holder, constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a box. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the box lid holder detached. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view, illustrating the construction of the lower clamp.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing.

The box lid holder, while designated principally for use on cigar boxes, is adapted to be applied to all kinds of boxes employed for displaying merchandise, and it is designed to be constructed in various sizes to adapt it to the character of box lid to be held. It is constructed of a single piece of wire, or other suitable material, and it consists of a straight inclined brace 1, an upper resilient clamp 2 and a .lower clamp 3. The lower clamp ongages the end wall 4 of box at the upper edge thereof, and the upper clamp 2 engages the lid 5 at the adjacent end thereof, and the brace is arranged at an inclination and extends upwardly from the end 4 to the back 5, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. The brace is adapted to be arranged at difierent inclinations to support the lid. of the box at different angles.

The upper resilient clamp, which is disposed transversely of the brace, is located beyond the upper end thereof and is approximately U-shaped, the wire being bent into substantial U-shape, as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The outer or upper side or jaw of the clamp is provided With a curved extension 6 to form a flaring mouth for facilitating the engagement of the clamp with the lid of the box. The inner or lower side or jaw of the U-shaped clamp is connected with the upper end of the brace by a spring bend 7, arranged in substantial parallelism with the inner side or aw of the clamp and spaced therefrom forming with the same an approximately U-sha ed loop. The U-shaped spring bend or doubled portion, although shown at the front face of the lid in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, may of course be arranged to engage the lid at the rear face thereof. The single side or jaw of the upper crank will then be arranged at the front face of the lid of the box. The slight bending of the single side will enable the clamp to engage the lid of the box in either direction.

The lower clamp 3 consists of an outer depending jaw 8 and an inner jaw 9, extending longitudinally of the brace and projecting downward beyond the plane of use outer jaw and connected at its inner end with the outer jaw by a transverse top portion 10. The Wire is bent upon itself to form the loop of the lower jaw, and is bent upward closing the inner side of the brace and is then bent downward to form the connecting top portion 10. The outer jaw 8, which is located opposite the inner end of the loop or inner jaw, is straight and extends downwardly from the outer end of the top portion 10. The inner projecting jaw 9, which fits against the inner face of the end l of the box, is provided with spurs or projections 11, formed by upsetting the metal and extending from the inner en aging face of the inner jaw and adapted to e embedded in the material of the box. The spurs or projections 11 instead of being formed integral with the inner jaw 9 of the lower clamp may be applied to the same by means of a separate piece of metal in any preferred manner, as the inner jaw may be equipped with any form of spur or projection for enabling it to grip the inner face of the end of the box.

In applying the device to the box, the downwardly projecting inner jaw 11 with its spurs or projections laterally oilset the upper portion of the brace from the vertical plane of the end 4 of the box, and it is necessary to flex or bend the brace between the clamps to engage the upper clamp with the lid 5. This bending or flexing of the brace places the device under tension and causes the upper and lower clamps to firmly and ositively grip the lid and the body of the ox, which are rigidly connected by the de vice. The bending of the brace is facilitated by the resiliency of the material and also by the connecting spring bend 7 at the up or end of the brace. This rigid connection etween the lid and the body of the box enables the box to be handled by the lid in removing the box from a show case and in replacing it therein, or in handing the box to a customer, and there is no liability of the box breaking away from the lid and producing an injury to its contents.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A box lid holder including a straight inclined brace, a clamp arranged at the upper end of the brace for engaging the lid, a lower clamp arranged at the lower end of the inclined brace for engaging the box, said lower clamp being provided with means for deflecting the upper end of the brace outwardly before the said upper clamp is connected with the lid, whereby when the upper clamp is engaged with the lid the brace will be flexed longitudinally and the lower clamp forced tightly into engagement with the box.

2. A box lid holder including an inclined brace, a lid-engaging clamp arranged at the upper end of the brace, and a box-engaging clamp located at the lower end of the brace and composed of inner and outer jaws, the inner jaw being extended beyond the plane of the outer jaw and arranged to deflect the upper end of the brace outwardly before the upper clamp is applied to the lid, whereby when the said upper clamp is engaged with the lid the brace will be flexed longitudinally and will force the extended inner jaw firmly into engagement with the box.

3. A box lid holder including an inclined brace, a lid-engaging clamp arranged at the upper end of the brace, and a box-engaging clamp located at the lower end of the brace and composed of inner and outer jaws, the inner jaw being extended longitudinally of the brace beyond the plane of the outer jaW and provided with one or more spurs or proj ections for engaging the box.

' 4:. A box lid holder including an inclined brace, a lid-engaging clamp arranged at the upper end of the brace, and a lower box-engaging clamp arranged at the lower end of the brace and consisting of an inner loop extending longitudinally from the brace, a depending outer jaw located opposite the inner end of the loop, and a top portion connecting the inner and outer jaws.

5. A box lid holder including an inclined brace, a lid-engaging clamp arranged at the upper end of-the brace, and a lower box-en gaging clamp composed of inner and outer.

aws and formed by bending the material back upon itself to form a loop and extending the said material across the top of the brace and then bending the terminal portion down ward to form the outerj aw.

6. A box lid holder including an inclined brace, an upper resilient lid-engaging clamp disposed transversely of the brace, a spring bend connecting the upper clamp with the upper end of the brace, and a lower box-engaging clamp composed of an inner loop disposed longitudinally of the brace, and a" straight outer depending jaw located opposite the inner end of the loop and connected with the top of the same.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY WILSON MORROW. Witnesses:

C. W. OURANT, JAs. P. FREUR. 

